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50 cal. Lyman Great Plains Loads?
- Thread starter LONGHORN
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Haven't got around to trying the short conicals, but intend to do so someday. If you get to it before I do, report back.
I've got two favorite RB loads for my rifle. For deer and general shooting, I'm real fond of a .490 RB, pillow ticking patch, almost any lube, and 80 grains of either Goex 3f or Pyrodex P. The former allows me to shoot lots with only an occasional barrel swab, but when that's in short supply and I have to shoot Pyrodex, a few changes are in order. I have to swab the bore every 6 shots max, or a heavy fouling ring builds up just above where the ball seats and it gets harder and harder to load. While I'm at it, I also pick the nipple due to the increasing potential of a misfire. Just part of the game, but a little more fiddly than Goex.
My other load is the same everything, except only 35 grains of Goex 3f or Pyro P. That's a jimdandy small game head thumper. Accurate as sin.
With my rifle sighted in using the 80 grain load to hit right on at 75 yards (3 low at 100 and a scratch high at 50), the 35 grain load is exactly right on the money at 25 yards and pretty close to it all the way out to 50. We're talking ragged hole groups with that load at 25 yards, so it really is the perfect small game load.
I've got two favorite RB loads for my rifle. For deer and general shooting, I'm real fond of a .490 RB, pillow ticking patch, almost any lube, and 80 grains of either Goex 3f or Pyrodex P. The former allows me to shoot lots with only an occasional barrel swab, but when that's in short supply and I have to shoot Pyrodex, a few changes are in order. I have to swab the bore every 6 shots max, or a heavy fouling ring builds up just above where the ball seats and it gets harder and harder to load. While I'm at it, I also pick the nipple due to the increasing potential of a misfire. Just part of the game, but a little more fiddly than Goex.
My other load is the same everything, except only 35 grains of Goex 3f or Pyro P. That's a jimdandy small game head thumper. Accurate as sin.
With my rifle sighted in using the 80 grain load to hit right on at 75 yards (3 low at 100 and a scratch high at 50), the 35 grain load is exactly right on the money at 25 yards and pretty close to it all the way out to 50. We're talking ragged hole groups with that load at 25 yards, so it really is the perfect small game load.
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I'm not particular about the thickness of patch, but my rifle sure is. There was a wear-in period for both my GPRs (the other is a 54). They both started out with really tight bores and enough sharp edges to cut patches and make starting balls pretty tough with real tight patch/ball combos. I'll stick with talking about the 50, but it mirrors what happened in the 54, as well as what my hunting pard experienced with his.
I had to start out with .490 balls and .015 commercial pre-lubed patches because the .018 pillow ticking I had on hand was really hard to get going and shredded miserably. I was disappointed because the ticking and my own lube are lots cheaper than commercial patches for a guy that shoots lot.
But after a couple of hundred rounds fired, it was getting really easy to start the .015/.490 combo. Out of curiosity I tried my ticking and homemade lube, and shazam. No more cut patches and a jump in accuracy.
Lymans just come with really sharp rifling right up to the muzzle and crown, and it seems to take some firing to smooth out the sharp. Not a prob, but something to plan for.
Also put some brake pad cleaner on a few cleaning patches and scrub the heck out of the new bore. Lyman uses some kind of bore grease that is the dickens to get out any other way, yet really affects accuracy till you get it out. Brake cleaner does it easily with 3 or 4 patches.
As for why Pyrodex P rather than RS? It's just more accurate and less fouling in m GPR 50. Same for my GPR 54, as a matter of fact. I've still got about 15 cans of RS and Select I picked up free from a friend's estate. And believe me, I'd be using the free stuff rather than buying P if it worked anywhere close to the P.
And you didn't ask, but I'll harp on the cheap side. I know you'll want to be using the commercial products at first just cuzz it's easier while you're figuring out what's going on. But don't let it be a habit if you want to shoot lots.
I bought my pillow ticking from Walmart. Can't remember the exact price but it was less than $5 for enough for roughly 1000 patches. My lube is tallow from a deer I shot mixed with a little olive oil. Call it 10 cents worth of olive oil for about 2 years worth of lube. I spent $20 on a Lee .490 RB mould and I shoot free scrap lead. If I threw the mould away after casting only 1000 balls (not a chance, but this is a mental game), I'd still have only about $25 in 1000 balls, 1000 patches and more lube than I needed. Figure the mold as a lifetime investment, then I've got only $5/1000 in my patch/ball/lube setup.
Like I said. Cheap. You can't even buy 1000 pellets for an air rifle for $5.
I had to start out with .490 balls and .015 commercial pre-lubed patches because the .018 pillow ticking I had on hand was really hard to get going and shredded miserably. I was disappointed because the ticking and my own lube are lots cheaper than commercial patches for a guy that shoots lot.
But after a couple of hundred rounds fired, it was getting really easy to start the .015/.490 combo. Out of curiosity I tried my ticking and homemade lube, and shazam. No more cut patches and a jump in accuracy.
Lymans just come with really sharp rifling right up to the muzzle and crown, and it seems to take some firing to smooth out the sharp. Not a prob, but something to plan for.
Also put some brake pad cleaner on a few cleaning patches and scrub the heck out of the new bore. Lyman uses some kind of bore grease that is the dickens to get out any other way, yet really affects accuracy till you get it out. Brake cleaner does it easily with 3 or 4 patches.
As for why Pyrodex P rather than RS? It's just more accurate and less fouling in m GPR 50. Same for my GPR 54, as a matter of fact. I've still got about 15 cans of RS and Select I picked up free from a friend's estate. And believe me, I'd be using the free stuff rather than buying P if it worked anywhere close to the P.
And you didn't ask, but I'll harp on the cheap side. I know you'll want to be using the commercial products at first just cuzz it's easier while you're figuring out what's going on. But don't let it be a habit if you want to shoot lots.
I bought my pillow ticking from Walmart. Can't remember the exact price but it was less than $5 for enough for roughly 1000 patches. My lube is tallow from a deer I shot mixed with a little olive oil. Call it 10 cents worth of olive oil for about 2 years worth of lube. I spent $20 on a Lee .490 RB mould and I shoot free scrap lead. If I threw the mould away after casting only 1000 balls (not a chance, but this is a mental game), I'd still have only about $25 in 1000 balls, 1000 patches and more lube than I needed. Figure the mold as a lifetime investment, then I've got only $5/1000 in my patch/ball/lube setup.
Like I said. Cheap. You can't even buy 1000 pellets for an air rifle for $5.
It depends what you are doing... for paper, trailwalks with PRB, my .50 GPR loves 50 gr of FFF Goex, .490 ball and pillow ticking patch. I haven't measured the thickness of the ticking, its just what I get from the fabric store. Its thick enough that I get good enough accuracy for my purposes, the recovered patches are intact and I can load without breaking my hand. My GPR doesn't seem to be too finicky about patches that way. Hunting deer-size game, you obviously want more powder than that, and will probably want to switch to FF.
None of the boys really addressed your question about using the lighter conicals in your GPR so I guess I'll put my foot in my mouth.
I've tried both Buffalo Bullet Company's .50 caliber 245-grain Ball-ets and Lee R.E.A.L. .50 caliber 320-grain bullets in my GPR. The accuracy of the Ball-ets wasn't as good as a PRB in my experience, but the pure-lead cast Lee R.E.A.L.s were VERY accurate! :grin: With 85 grains of 3fg GOEX and Crisco lube off of a sandbag rest I was getting nice, round clusters of shots at 50 yards with 4 out of 5 shots touching and the fifth not far out of the group. They also shot to point-of-aim for my PRB load of 55 grains 3fg GOEX and .018" ticking patch.
If I hunted with my rifle, I'd not hesitate to pick the R.E.A.L. bullet to get the job done out to 100 yards or even a mite beyond.
Let us know which conical you choose to try and what your results are. :thumbsup:
I've tried both Buffalo Bullet Company's .50 caliber 245-grain Ball-ets and Lee R.E.A.L. .50 caliber 320-grain bullets in my GPR. The accuracy of the Ball-ets wasn't as good as a PRB in my experience, but the pure-lead cast Lee R.E.A.L.s were VERY accurate! :grin: With 85 grains of 3fg GOEX and Crisco lube off of a sandbag rest I was getting nice, round clusters of shots at 50 yards with 4 out of 5 shots touching and the fifth not far out of the group. They also shot to point-of-aim for my PRB load of 55 grains 3fg GOEX and .018" ticking patch.
If I hunted with my rifle, I'd not hesitate to pick the R.E.A.L. bullet to get the job done out to 100 yards or even a mite beyond.
Let us know which conical you choose to try and what your results are. :thumbsup:
